Burial Ground: Reprise
by yesterdaysmaybe
Summary: Five thousand years ago, the actions of an evil Pharaoh led to the cursed destruction of a lost town known as Kul-Elna. Five thousand years to the day, Officer Joey Wheeler and photographer Yugi Mutou find themselves inexplicably lost in the fabled cursed town. With his best friend's life at stake, Joey must battle hell itself to bring them home. This is his side of the story.


_**Hello, lovelies! Welocme to the first chapter of my story! So, as you know, this is a companion story to ' Burial Ground.' In the story, While Yugi is off galavanting through the dark netherworld while being chased by Atemu, he has not come alone. Joey has also found his way to this strange place, too. The otherworld has a way of testing those who come to play. So then, what has Joey seen since his fall from the digsite? What happens when he and Yugi are not together? This is his side of the story. WARNING: GRAPHIC HORROR AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**_

_**Enjoy. :p**_

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_**CHAPTER 1: WELCOME**_

_**He knew he wasn't dead. The first clue was his rapidly beating heart pounding in his chest as if it were trying to escape his ribcage. The second clue was where he **__**had landed. It was pitch black everywhere. When he first woke up in this dark place, he'd entertained the idea that this was hell. But somewhere-he couldn't **__**remember where-he had once read that hell was what you might create for yourself. A dark, quiet place was the last idea he would have had for himself, let alone **__**his own hell. And thirdly, if he really WERE dead, then how could he feel his heart? Or the grainy sand under his palms? The coldness of the air? The soreness of his **__**body? Being dead might contradict the things he was feeling, right? The young man sat on the ground, mentally tallying his information. He knew who he was. His **__**name was Joseph Wheeler, A.K.A " Joey" to his friends. He was twenty years old and he was a police officer with the Domino City Police Department. He was **__**currently in Egypt, however. Joey had been offered to come by his best friend Yugi Mutou and his grandfather, Solomon. He was working security detail on a historic **__**dig. Dr. Solomon Mutou, a well-respected archaeologist, had with his colleagues discovered a supposedly lost village which might also be the resting place of a **__**notorious lost king. The past few days had been eventful to say the least. And as for Joey himself he'd taken the experience like a grand adventure. The past ten **__**days at the dig site had been fine...until recently. **_

_**An earth-splitting earthquake had disturbed the ground. The last thing he remembered was trying to hold on to the giant crane, hoping the strong steel might help **__**his stand strong. But when the ground opened up and swallowed him whole that hope had been utterly shattered. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. Time **__**was impossible to gage here. And more unsettling; Joey woke up alone. No sign of people, no sign of his best friend or his grandfather. Even the digging equipment **__**was nowhere to be found. There was just a vast void of...NOTHING all around him. Joey checked his equipment. Gun was still functional, he hadn't lost any mags from **__**his fall-which was kind of surprising. The flashlight on his belt was also working just fine-though it barely penetrated the world around him it was so dark. The steel knife he kept hidden in his boot was still there. He touched his pocket and pulled out his wallet. It wasn't the cards inside he was most concerned with so much as the photograph inside. The picture was blissfully undamaged. Sighing in relief he returned the wallet to his pocket then checked the last of his belongings. **__**He pulled his radio from his belt and clicked it on. The device hummed to life-a good sign. Maybe he could radio for help? It was worth a shot. He held down the **__**speaker button and talked in to the device, speaking in a voice that was calmer, stronger than he felt.**_

_**" Officer Wheeler to base, Over." He released the button and waited.**_

_**Nothing.**_

_**" Officer Wheeler to base, Over." **_

_**Silence.**_

_**" Officer Joseph Wheeler to base, is anyone out there?" No response. Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach. No one was answering him. Every other member of **__**security personel had a walkie. If no one was answering...no. He couldn't let himself go there. Someone else HAD to be alive. He forced a rational thought of **__**optomism through his head. Maybe he fell too far. Maybe he was simply out of range for the walkie to reach anyone. If he could find a way to the surface, then maybe **__**he could find help. **' And...find Yugi.'** Joey's insides clenched at the thought of his best friend. They had been together for years, and Joey had always made it **__**his own responsibility to look out for him. It wasn't necessarily that Yugi was weak-not at all. Though his friend was definitely smaller than him, the kid knew **__**how to hold his own when push came to shove. That wasn't the issue. Rather, it was his own personality that was his friend's greatest handicap. Yugi was kind by **__**nature. It wasn't in him to always fight to survive like it was for Joey. Yugi was a pacifist. He would rather talk it out and come to a calm resolution than throw a **__**punch. Because of this Joey would always have to keep an eye on the smaller boy, bullied for his small staure and BECAUSE he didn't often fight. But oh when he did**__**...those moments made Joey so, so proud. It wasn't until later in life that Yugi became more confident in himself, which wasn't a bad thing...except for when his **__**smart-mouth would land him in trouble. When Yugi was calm, he was calm. When he was pissed, he was PISSED. Times like that had landed the duo in quite the trouble **__**in the past. But no matter what kind of trouble Yugi would land himself in, Joey was always there to bail him out.**_

_**The way he saw it, nothing had changed. He knew Yugi was here somewhere. He could feel it inside himself. Yugi was here and like always, Joey would find out what **__**trouble he was in and bail him out. Then they could leave this place together. Bolstered by his positive thoughts Joey strode confidently in to the darkness, not **__**afraid in the least. But as time passed, he did beging to feel just a little frusterated. Just how big WAS this place?! Shouldn't he have run in to a wall, or even **__**a rock at this point?! Growling impatiently under his breath he began to run. He picked a random direction-it wasn't like he wasn't lost already-and ran. He ran **__**as hard and as fast as he could. He pumped his arms and powered his legs as hard as he could, running until his lungs burned. Joey ran until his chest ached so **__**hard he imagined he'd have a heart attack at any moment. It wasn't until his legs buckled and gave out from under him that he collapsed face-first in the sand.**_

_**And groaned.**_

_**His head was pounding. Hell, he could even hear it in his ears. Long, throbbing and drawn-out. But...the sound persisted. In fact, it got louder!**_

_**Wait...**_

_**It wasn't his head! Joey sluggishly lifted himself on to his knees and looked around him. It was...a gong? In THIS place?! Joey looked around wildly for the **__**source of the sound. But as he looked, his enviornment began to change. The sand below him sifted away from the ground to reveal stone, aged and craked in several **__**places. Pillars grew from the ground, splintered and dripping in some places with something red. It looked like bloo-no. No, it couldn't be...? Around him aged **__**buildings of stone and statues of gods and godesses long retired from the modern world surfaced around him. It was a town. Wait! Could this be THE town?! The one **__**Yugi and Mr. Mutou had been searching for?! But how could it have simply risen out of the sand like that? Was this a dream? Joey slapped his face once, grunting in **__**pain as the sting met his cheek. Nope. He was awake. A rumble in the ground and movement to his right grabbed his attention, and the young officer looked to the **__**distraction. It was the ground. The stone blocks were breathing. Wait. BREATHING?! A burst of static noise blasted from his walkie, and Joey looked down at the **__**device in confusion, then looked back at the breathing ground. How was it doing that? The stones rose and fell, rose and fell...then one of the stones flipped over. **__**The effect carried on to several others until an opening in the ground was made. Something rose from the hole. A hand? No. Something else. Joey stood up shakily, **__**slowly bringing his gun out as he pointed his flashlight at the hole. A tap. A click. Then they burst from the hole and Joey yelled out in fear and shock. **_

_**What **__**emerged from the ground were bugs. No, big bugs! He shined his light on them, trying desperately to keep his hands from shaking as he took in the sight of them. They **__**were big, like cats or maybe even the size of small dogs. Their armored bodies were brown, with white horns protruding from each shoulder, and a stinger at the **__**end of it's body. Those looked like they could do some serious damage. But what freaked Joey out the most were it's heads. Two heads sprouted from the body, each **__**one armed with wicked-looking pincers and a single arm at either side of the body. Spindly, but he could tell they were strong. The light from his flashlight **__**drew their attention, and with gleaming eyes and clicking pincers they hissed slowly and began ambling toward him. Joey cautiously stepped back as more emerged from the ground, the creatures shifting and blinking rapidly at him through the light.**_

_**At a rough guess he supposed there were at least twenty of them, if not more. Joey licked his lips nervously, backing father away slowly as he mentally counted his options. **__**Should he stay and try to fight, or should he run and save his ammo? Although he did have a steel hunting knife hidden in a sheath in his right boot, he had a feeling it wouldn't do him much service. Just how many of these disgusting things were there? How fast were they? COULD he outrun them? **__**The creatures swarmed toward him, teeming with excitement. Joey stumbled back. He fired two shots, and the creatures sceetched in fear and scuttled away from him. **__**They scampered around, but not away, seeming just as eager to devour him as they were to run away from him. Should he just go for it and kill them all? No, he **__**decided. He shouldn't. Shooting these would do no good-there were just too many. The ones closest to him hissed at him, saliva dripping from their mouths. **__**Joey took one look at the hoarde and came to a descision with a quick shake of his head. " Uh-uhn." Joey turned heel and began running as hard and as fast away as he could. He had no idea where **__**he was going, and right now he didn't care. All he wanted to do was put as much distance between himself and those things as much as possible. The world around him was **__**maze-like, with only black darkness wherever he ran. His vision only extended as far as his flashlight. perhaps he should have kept his eyes ahead. Maybe he shouldn't **__**have looked back when an ungoldly scream sounded behind him in the distance. Because the second he dared a look back...he ran headlong in to a stone pillar. His body **__**hit the stone with a sickening thud and blinding pain slashed through his skull. Joey fell to the ground, catching himself on his hands. Dimly aware that he was **__**still being chased he scrambled to his feet, stumbling through the mind-numbung pain as his body harshly protested movement. Every step made him feel like he was **__**dragging a body that weighed over a ton. Then Joey yelped in pain as his foot touched nothing and he fell down, having stumbled across an un-seen drop off. He hit the **__**sand, which slid downward and his body rolled away. His arm hit stone and Joey squinted through the darkness to see. It looked like an underground passage of some kind. **_

_**Joey scrambled to it, then hid in the darkness. On inspiration he turned his flashlight off, sealing himself in the darkness. **' Makes me harder to find.' **He mentally **__**reasoned.**_

_**Mildly confindent that the creatures wouldn't find him, Joey surrendered to the pain and gave in to unconsciousness.**_

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_**He had no idea how long he lay there in the dark. But when he woke up, nothing had changed. Good because that meant he hadn't been eaten in his sleep. Bad because, **__**he was still trapped in this nightmare, with no help in sight. Joey groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. He wanted to go back to sleep, but logically he knew **__**that would be a very bad idea. one because he knew staying here didn't mean staying safe, two because he still had to find Yugi, and three becuase he suspected **__**that due to the blow he gave his head, he may have a concussion. Nope. No naptime for him. He had to get going. Joey gingerly got off of the ground, then walked **__**back up the incline he had slid down and back up to the surface. But as he walked he began to notice...there was nothing here. No buildings, no streets, no statues, **__**and no monsters. It was as if nothing had even happened. It was all just darkness again. " The fuck...?" He breathed. Had he imagined that? No! He knew it had all **__**been real! But then...where did it go?! Licking his dry lips Joey took off at a light jog, casting his eyes around for something-anything! A flash of white on the **__**ground had him skidding to a stop. He looked down, then slowly walked over to the source and kneeled in the sand. It was a piece of gauze. The cloth was dyed **__**red with blood and it looked fresh. The wrapper it had come in was lying askance in the ground a few inches away. Joey swiveled his flashlight. Over there! He stood **__**up and walked two steps to examine his newest clue. It was a wrapper to a granola bar. Joey smiled so wide his cheeks hurt as hope shot though his body like lightning.**_  
_**It was Yugi! It had to be! He always carried a medical kit with him, and he knew the granola bar was his because Yugi was the only one who packed them on the trip.**_

_**Joey felt like jumping for joy.** ' Yeah! Yugi's alive!'** He mentally cheered. But his joy was brief as he stole another glance at the gauze on the ground. **' Alive, but __hurt. This could be bad.'** He mused. No time to waste! If Yugi was seriously hurt, then that was all the more reason why Joey had to find him, and fast! Joey looked **__**down in the sand, smiling as his flashkight caught the break he needed: Footprints in the sand. Keeping the light trained on the tracks Joey took off again, dutifully **__**following the tracks. He forced his aching body to run, even as his legs threatened to give out on him again. But his determination to see his friend again was more than enough to power his body forward. He stopped when a sound reached his ears. He quickly **__**turned his light off lest it attract another monster and he stilled to listen. But the world around him...wasn't all dark. In the distance, there was another light shining. He looked to the light. Joy, excitement, **__**concern and confusion meshed itself all in to one ball of jumbled emotion as he found the source of the light. It was Yugi! He was standing! He was okay! **_

_**But...he wasn't alone. **_

_**Standing in front of him was what Joey could only describe as a wizard. He wore a tall, pointed purple hat, with matching pyrple robes outfitted with some kind of **__**fantasy armor. In his hand was a staff. What in the hell was a WIZARD doing in this place?! **' What is this?! World Of Warcraft!?'** They were talking, but Joey **__**was too far away to hear what they were saying. With his light off he knew he was perfectly concealed, so Joey crept forward. Close enough to watch-and act if need be, **__**but far enough to not be detected. The two of them began to walk, and keeping himself hidden in the dark, Joey began to follow them. It was easy, since all he had **__**to do was follow Yugi's light. But all he wanted to do was grab his friend and get the hell out of here! **' But, what if this wizard his trying to help Yugi do that?' __**His rational mind asked. He didn't know what to make of this stranger, only that he seemed to know more about this place than either of them did. Maybe he could **__**help. The movie the Wizard Of Oz popped in his head and Joey couldn't help but think; **" Is he a good witch, or a bad witch?"** Suddenly, the ground gave way under him **__**for the third time that day and Joey plummeted down. He screamed as he hit a strange combination of stone and steel, the tunnel before him glowing with an ominous **__**red light. The light seemed to be coming from red crystal formations jutting in various places along the ceiling and the walls. He slid down, taking in the **__**rapidly moving scenery before him. The stone tunnel was wrapped in rusted pipes, the walls hugged by rusted red barbed wire that sprang from the walls like vines. He **__**didn't dare touch one. He controlled his body to slide straight down-CRASH! A steel cage slammed down directly in his path and with a shout of fear he angled his body**_  
_**barely in time to slide away from it. CRASH-BANG-CRASH-CLANG! Steel cages and harshly spiked spears crashed down or jutted up in his path. It was like the tunnel/slide **__**was purposely out to kill him! Joey weaved and dodged each one, until his body pitched forward and for what seemed like the millionth time that day, hit his face **__**in the sand. He coughed and sputtered, wiping a gloved hand over his face and wiping his mouth.**_

_** " I am officially over this place." He groused. Great. Just when **__**he had found his friend, they get separated again! **' But, at least I know he's alive.' **He reminded himself, He couldn't get discouraged. All he had to do was find **__**a way back up to him. But before the officer could even think of getting up, the radio on his belt began to buzz to life, the walkie's battery light blinking rapidly on and off as white noise blared to life from the device. Wait. The walkie had only done that one other time before...when... Dread flooded his veins like ice and Joey swallowed hard. **__**A low growl sounded in the dark, and Joey slowly picked up his flashlight, clicked it on and shined it on the source. It was a dragon-or rather, what was left of it. **__**The dragon was obviously dead, it's rotted hide an instant give-away. Bones, sinew and muscle poked up and peeled out from where the dragon's flesh had completely **__**rotted away. It's hollow yellow eyes blinked blearily at him through the light of his flashlight, yellow-ish drool pooling from it's sagging jaw as it looked at him. **__**The beast growled at him again then lunged at him, snapping his jaws hungrily at the officer. He didn't think twice. Joey jumped back as he pulled his gun and **__**fired three rounds all aimed at it's head. BANG-BANG-BANG! The dragon whimpered in pain, swaying from side to side before completely collapsing in the sand. At his hip, the radio went completely silent. Joey **__**struggled to breathe steady as his heart pounded. Should he check to make sure it was dead or should he run? He didn't want to get anywhere NEAR that thing...okay.**_

_**Simple solution. Joey aimed, then fired another round directly between the corpse's eyes. The head jerked slightly with the force of the bullet as greenish blood **__**leaked from the bullet hole, but otherwise it stayed dead. Nodding once to himself Joey backed away, panning his light around the new area he was in. It was a **__**tunnel of some kind. So far, the only way he could go was forward. Running blind might help him evade more of the monsters, but stumbling around blind in the **__**dark was equally as dangerous as having the flashlight on. Joey know if he didn't find a way out...he could very well die down here. **' I have ammo, so I think __I'm good. I'll just have to conserve what I can. Only shoot the ones that matter and run past the rest.' **He reasoned. With that logic in mind Joey held **__**his gun at the ready and with the flashlight in hand he began running again. The tunnels split at random intervals, offering him a variety of directions. At first, he let his walkie do the deciding for him-if he neared a tunnel that caused his radio to go off, he went down a direction that kept the device quiet. Paths with inclines were the best in his opinion, because if they steeped up, then that meant he was getting closer to the surface. He came upon a challenge however, when at a left turn he was only offered the option to go right, or forward. **_

_**Something inside told him he needed to go forward...but his walkie was beginning to buzz beside him. Nope. So, the officer took the right turn. He ran down the right corridor confidently.**_

_**Until he hit a dead end. **_

_**Fuck.**_

_**That meant his only option was to backtrack and go forward. His gut twisted. He KNEW something was waiting for him there. He wanted to save his bullets for when he found Yugi. Protecting him was his only job right now as far as he was concerned. But if it came to a fight, he supposed he could only hope it ended quickly. Joey took a deep breath, then doubled back until he came to the crossroad. Again his radio buzzed and sputtered, but this time Joey didn't turn tail and run away. He un-holstered his gun and held it steady as he began walking cautiously down the hallway before him. A low growl sounded from the darkness and his heart began beating wildly. He mentally berated himself. **' Don't you fall apart, Wheeler. Don't you FUCKING fall apart now! Just run in, find the sicko in the way and shoot. That's all you gotta do.'** Like ripping a band-aid off, he decided to just get it over with and quick. Huffing through his nose Joey bounced on his feet...then ran headlong in to the tunnel. A monsterous face flashed in the light ahead of him and he fired three rounds. BANG-BANG-CLICK! Out of ammo. Mentally cursing the officer hastily ejected the mag and snapped a new one in to place. The monster roared in anger, whipping out an appendage striking Joey in the chest. He cried out in surprise and fear as he was thrown, his back hitting the stone wall so hard the wind was knocked out of him. He wasn't expecting it to be so fast! Joey coughed and gasped as he struggled to breathe. Before him the monster was likewise growling in pain. He lifted his flashlight and took in the sight before him.**_

_**The creature was tall. Nearly nine feet if he had to guess. It's shape was humanoid, with arms, legs, even hands, fingers and toes. But it's body and face were anything but human. It's body was covered in goldish-orange scales, which shined dimly in the light like armor. Each finger on it's hands and toes on it's feet were adorned with wicked-looking black claws. A single black horn sprouted from each kneecap of the monster. Large wings folded at the back of the monster, shaped like giant horns curving down it's back but fully functional. And it's face...Jesus. A pearly, white horn protruded from either temple, the large eyes black and beetle-like. The mouth was a vertical slit in his face, with two large, white fangs flexing threateningly on the thing's face. The bullets had struck the monster once on the left shoulder, and once by the chest cavity area. Both wounds dribbled with red blood. Maybe it was the sheer size of this thing. Maybe it was because in a human shape. Whatever the reason, just the mere sight of this thing terrified Joey to no end. His breath filtered through his lungs like glass. His body turned cold as the beast rolled it's injured shoulder and eyed him tauntingly. His heart beat as fast as a hummingbird's wings as his bones shook in his flesh. **_

_**He remembered this fear. It took him a moment, but he was able to identify it.**_

_**Helplessness.**_

_**The wounds delivered to the thing seemed to irritate it more than actually hurt it. It was bigger than him. It was obviously stronger than him. And his only means of offense didn't work against it. He we beginning to feel helpless. When was the last time he had felt this way? It had been years. He hadn't felt fear like this since back when he used to live-No. He wouldn't let himself go there. Things had changed since those dark days. HE had changed. He wasn't a frightened little boy anymore. He was a man. And he had a gun. **' And Goddamn it I'm gonna use it!'** Snarling in anger-both at the taunting beast and his own cowardice-Joey fired four more rounds, all aimed at it's head. The bullets found their marks between the eyes, clipping one horn on it's head, and two in the left cheek. The beast roared in anger, swatting his hand at the officer as it's other hand rose to wipe the blood from it's face. **' Damn! Even with shots to the head it's still movi**'**n!'** An ungodly roar shook the tunnels. Both Joey and the beast stumbled where they stood, the walls pulsing hot around them. What was that?! Whatever had made that sound was dangerous, he was sure. Panic spiked through his heart as Yugi flashed in his mind's eye. What if whatever had roared like that had him?! He couldn't waste any time! Joey shot to his feet-the creature lunged-and Joey shot it in the face again. The thing screamed at him as it's head snapped to the side in pain and he took the opportunity. **_

_**Joey sprinted away, praying at the very least he might be faster than the creature. He didn't dare look back as he ran, taking every turn he could to try and lose it. Whichever direction he took, his walkie continued to emit static noise. All he could do was run. The walls began to change as he plowed deeper in to the labyrinth. The walls began to turn from stone grey, to dirt brown, then to red. His body was beginning to lose stamina with all of the running he'd been subjecting it to. This combined with his persistent headache and sore muscles had him going at a light jog rather than the full-on sprint he had been using before. This was all he could manage now. Panting heavily he sagged against a wall-and then jerked back. The wall was soft. It was wet and slick. It felt warm. Joey shined his light on the wall. It looked...like flesh. It felt...like it was pulsing. **' No...there's no way that thing's alive...'** Was it? At this point Joey was ready to believe anything. A scream to his right had him jumping back as he aimed his flashlight and his gun to the sound. It was a person. A woman. Or...what he assumed used to be a woman.**_

_**The woman had firey red hair that fanned out along the wall, her green eyes staring straight at him as she screamed. The veins throbbed angrily through her **__**purple-tinged skin, and Joey had no doubt she would kill him if she could. But, she was bound to the wall. She wasn't moving toward him. She wasn't a threat. He **__**lowered his gun and sped past her, leaving the banshee to scream as his legs worked to push him through the tunnels to find his missing friend. A familiar keen had him mentally groaning as the keening sound was followed by a sceetch. Yup. Just ahead to his left he could see them-the beetle things that had erupted from the ground to attack him before. But they weren't focused on him this time. Something else was drawing their attention.**_

_**Wait...that light there. Was it-!**_

_**It was him! But he was outnumbered, and he was down on the ground kicking and clawing at them as the beetles grabbed at his body. Joey didn't hesitate. He lifted his gun, aiming at the creatures closest to his friend and began firing. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! He didn't know **__**how many bullets he had, but he'd use them all if he had to. With the shots he had taken an opeing was made. Joey ran through the horde, grabbed Yugi by the strap **__**of his backpack then dragged him away. A metal door hung ajar and Joey took the chance. He shoved the door open with his shoulder with one hand holding Yugi, the **__**other holding his gun up just in case. He all but threw Yugi in to the room as the monsters began converging on them. He slammed his whole side in to the door and **__**with a rusted groan the door banged shut. They panted together in the dark room, steadying panicked breaths and pounding hearts. That was too close. He shined the **__**light on his friend, and amethyst met honey brown. He was okay. He looked battered and bruised, but he was here. He was alive. Smiling in relief he pushed the bangs **__**from his eyes and laughed quietly. " Hey, Yuge. Some vacation, huh?" He asked, his tone light despite the sarcasam. Across from him Yugi laughed too, looking **__**as happy and relieved as he felt.**_

_**" Joey."**_

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_**And that's that! So what did you think of Joey's first chapter? Monsters featured in the chapter in order of appearance: Worm Lynx, Dragon Zombie, Worm Prince and Wall Of Illusion. Please R&R and bless your happy happiness! :)**_


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